09.21.06
Posted in HDPE-LDPE-LLDPE, Materials at 11:23 pm by Administrator
HDPE – High Density polyethylene…the workhorse of plastics. We use this material in everything from milk jugs to park benches. It is the most widely used resin in the industry. It can be blended with many other resins to change its physical properties. Its flexure temperature is around 220 deg F. with an extrusion temperature of 350 to 450 deg F. This resin can be injection molded, extruded in to tubing and film, it can be cast extruded, thermoformed, vacuum formed and among other methods. The colors are unlimited and the shape is only set by the imagination. There are additives to make it degradable, it has a good resistance to MVT and is great to be used in the freezer…not causing freezer burn during food storage.
In packaging it is used as a monolayer film or as an integral layer to a co extruded or laminated film; providing additional barrier properties warranted by the application. it is not transparent in its natural extruded form but ther are HDPE resins available that do have a high degree of clarity. Its tensile and dart strength is fantastic compared to other resins with weakness in elongation. The recycling symbol for this resin is “2″ and is verily easily reclaimed and recycled in a closed loop standard recycling system.
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09.20.06
Posted in Materials, Sustainable and Biodegradable at 10:31 pm by Administrator
I have been in this business for almost 23 years. Sustainable and degradable products have been around for most of my career. There have been additives that gave the film a reddish hue to the claim that calcium carbonate was the answer.
What is the real driver this time? Is it the oil prices that are waking people up the idea again or is it the wish to hug a tree again? I see the government is finally taking a look at these items and are, in some cases, mandating their use for certain government agencies. This initiative is coming from the Agricultural side trying to help out the farmers.
I have been testing and experimenting with most all of the additives that break down the ethylene and now with PLA and PLA/polyester blends. Most are ready for market but the price is still too high for it to get into wide distribution. Supply and demand dictate pricing at this point and until there is more emphasis put on the supply side it probably will still be a number of years before we see it replacing your t-shirt bag at Wal-Mart®. The focus to date has been in the rigid container market, leaving us flexible guys to wonder when we get our chance. There are a few producers of film but again their supply is limited and the price is out of reach of the mass users of our products. Again, what is the driver? I see that there is a new report our that can be purchased to look at market dynamics, which if anyone has this your comments would be appreciated. I am excited about the possibilities but fear that if fossil fuel prices continue to dip the interest will decline.
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09.18.06
Posted in Legislation of interest at 9:14 pm by Administrator
On August 30, 2006 California passed a mandatory recycling law (AB 2449) that includes plastic bags used in grocery and retail establishments larger than 10,000 sq. ft. Along with requiring stores to maintain recycling bins, it is the responsibility of the manufacture to develop materials to educate their respective customers about recycling and the program that was established. Also the stores have to provide durable bags such as cloth or heavy gauge bags that will be able to be reused.
On the surface this may seem like a good thing but the problem is that there is not sufficient infrastructure to develop a program around and to date recycling of post consumer waste has not found a good business model to make it truly profitable.
The PBA (Progressive Bag Alliance) made up of the four large bag manufacturers were backers of the bill but they appear to have a vested interest. They have already developed programs and written materials to promote recycling that they can market to other manufacturers and stores.
I do support recycling and see its benefits. What would be nice is to see a consorted effort to educate the public and spend our resources developing the infrastructure and the methods to efficiently recycle those items that are deemed necessary. This is in contrast to a mandate from government to do so.
I believe that if you go into a grocery store and they try to give you one bag for every item, it is a matter of education. Not the consumer at that point but the grocer. Either educate them of the pack-out that the bag can hold or suggest a smaller bag. Both will solve the problem and reduce plastic usage significantly.
Another thing is that just by setting up the bins and educating the public we expect them to use the program. Most of us do something if it brings benefit to us. This to me could be seen as a inconvenience…there has to be some reward, at least at first. Do you want to have to remember to bring your own bags to the store and calculate how many you need? Looks to me like it is just another potential cost for the customer is they forgot their bags. Along with no reward for the customer there is no consequence if the customer does not follow the recycling programs.
Look, as usual, the spirit of the effort is grand but the execution lacks any teeth.
What is your opinion?
To learn more about the law go to: http://www.plasticsindustry.org/public/legreg/cabagrecycling.htm
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09.17.06
Posted in Introduction at 1:37 pm by Administrator
Welcome to Bag Blog. This blog and site will provide up-to-date informtation about the flexible packaging industry. It will give insights into upcoming events and significant developments that will affect the industry. With the rise in fossil fuel pricing, there is an ever present interest in alternatives, which will also be addressed.
Now a little bit about myself. My name is Terry Gebhardt and I have been involved in the packaging industry for over 22 years. During that time, I have developed and patented such bags as the Original Wave Bag®, a 2-cup drink carrier, a headered Kwik-Karry™ bag, the ”cinch sack”, various methods of manufacture for plastic bags and many other contributions to the industry. I have a degree in Mechanical Engineering Technology from LeTourneau University and have recently recieved my MBA. I am a member of several organizations such as IOPP and SME with other company affiliations such as SPE and SPI. I have also gained CPP (Certified Packaging Professional) status through the IOPP organization.
Although these credentials are only that, I hope to bring a different prespective to the flexible packaging industry through this blog. I know there are other blogs around this subject that have already been established, which do give a good overview, but I hope to give some specific insight to specific subjects that will bring value to you as we begin this quest into the industry and markets that we serve as flexible packaging professionals.
Feel free to suggest subjects that interest you and I will try and find relevent information on the subject. Please provide feedback and comments on any posted information. If you have a favorite industry link I will try and list it so others can benefit.
Thank you for taking the time to read my introduction.
The blog has been stagnate but I am back and will be bringing new and up-to-date information about plastic bags and in particular sustainable packaging, which I hope everyone will join in on the discussion.
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